Alex Ellison allowed just one hit over seven innings, helping the Hays Larks to the three-game sweep of the Colorado Sox with a 5-0 Thursday night at Larks Park. The senior to be at Fort Hays State allowed just a two-out single in the fourth inning, striking out seven while walking just one for his second win of the season.
The Larks scored a run in the second on an Austin Jarvis RBI single. Austin Darby hit his third home run in four at-bats with a two-run shot in the third. Hays added two more in the seventh on a wild pitch and Ryan Busboom single.
The Larks go 6-3 on their longest homestand of the summer and improve to 13-4. They’re on the road for the next five and 10 of their next 13 starting Friday with the first of three in Derby.
The Hays Eagles Senior American Legion opened tournament play in Omaha, Nebraska with a pair of lopsided wins Thursday. The Eagles defeat Omaha Benson 13-3 then knock off the Millard Gold Sox 10-5 to run their record to 18-3 on the season.
Hays Eagles 13, Omaha Benson 3 Tyler Wooldridge throws a no-hitter. He walked four in Benson’s four-run sixth inning including one with the bases loaded. The other two runs scored on an error on third baseman Hayden Hutchison. Wooldridge struck out nine and walked six and moves to 4-0.
The Eagles scored six in the fifth inning to go up 7-0. They then added four more runs in the seventh after Benson’s three-run sixth.
Hays Eagles 10, Millard Gold Sox 5
Austin Unrein allowed just one run on three hits, striking out nine and walking three. He’s now 4-1.
The Eagles took control early scoring seven in the second and led 10-1 before Millard tacked on four in the top of the seventh.
The MIAA has announced their schedule of televised games on the MIAA TV Network and the Fort Hays State Tigers will be featured twice.
The Tigers road game at Southwest Baptist on October 13th as well as their home game with Lincoln on October 20th will be covered. Both will kickoff at 2:30pm
Fort Hays State is one of five schools to have two games televised.
In addition to the 11 football games on the MIAA Network, the league will also be featured on national television Thursday, Sept. 20, as Central Missouri plays host to Truman at 7 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.
All MIAA football and basketball games will continue to be streamed live online on the America One Television Network.
2012 MIAA Television Network Football Schedule September 8: Central Oklahoma at Pittsburg State, 6:00pm
September 15: Nebraska-Kearney at Missouri Western, 6:00pm
September 22: Washburn at Central Oklahoma, 2:30pm
September 29: Northeastern State at Northwest Missouri, 2:30pm
October 6: Truman at Nebraska-Kearney, 2:30pm
October 13: Fort Hays State at Southwest Baptist, 2:30pm
October 20: Lincoln at Fort Hays State, 2:30pm
October 25: Missouri Western at Emporia State, 6:00 pm
October 27: Missouri Southern at Lindenwood, 2:30pm
November 3: TBA, 2:30pm
November 10: TBA, 2:30pm
The MIAA Network is offered exclusively on Eagle Communications Television in Hays, Ellis, Russell, WaKeeney, Victoria and Munjor on Channel 15.
Fort Hays State women’s basketball ranked seventh nationally in attendance for the second straight year in NCAA Division II, averaging 1,736 fans per game. This total is higher than the 1,667 per game last year for the Lady Tigers and marks the third consecutive year that Fort Hays State ranked in the top 10 nationally.
The four Kansas schools of the MIAA continue to keep the conference strong in attendance. The MIAA ranked first in the nation once again as a conference, as the league reported an average of 1,282 fans per women’s game among the 11 institutions. Emporia State led the way in the conference at 2,233 per game, ranking second in the nation, and Washburn was a close third nationally at 2,227 per game. Pittsburg State was also in the top 10, ranked ninth at 1,578 per game.
The MIAA was the only conference to average more than 1,000 fans per game. The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, which aligns regionally with the MIAA in 2012-13, was a distant second with 880 fans per game, an average of 402 less than the MIAA. The Lone Star Conference, which will no longer in the same region as the MIAA starting in 2012-13, was third with 728 per game.
NCAA II Attendance Leaders…
The Hays Larks use a late rally and a big first inning to pull off a doubleheader sweep Wednesday night over the Colorado Sox at Larks Park. The Larks score four in their last at-bat to take the opener 6-5. They send 13 to the plate in the first inning and win game two 23-2. The Larks have now won three straight and are 12-4 on the season. They close out the series and the homestand Thursday night at 7pm. Admission is free courtesy of the Glassman Corporation.
Game 1: Larks 6, Sox 5 The Larks trailed 5-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth when they loaded the bases with one out thanks to a MacKenzie Handel double and two walks. They would score just one run on a Nolan Johnson two out walk to make it 5-2.
Aaron Cornell singled with one out in the seventh and scored on Zair Koeiman’s two-run homer ove the right field wall to pull the Larks within a run. Handel singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. He scored when Colorado shortstop Cody Hastings tried to throw him out at third on Jon Ryan’s grounder. The wall ended up in the Larks dugout. Ryan moved to third after two straight walks and scored the game winner on a wild pitch.
Claudio Valencia worked a scoreless seventh, helped in part by an inning ending double play, and gets the win (1-0).
Game 2: Larks 23, Sox 2
The Larks send 13 batters to the plate in the first inning, scoring eight runs on eight hits and never looked back, scoring in every inning.
The Larks add five in the third and five in the fifth and scored three in the sixth.
Nebraska’s Austin Darby homered in his last two at-bats and drove in five. Darby hit a 3-run shot in the fifth and a 2-run bomb in the sixth. Jon Ryan hit his first homer of the season, a 3-run shot in the third and finished with four RBI’s. Austin Jarvis added a 2-run homer in the third.
Starter Jake McDavid allowed just one hit and picks up his first win (1-0).
Kansas City Royals Alex Gordon (4), Jarrod Dyson (1) and Jeff Francoeur (21) celebrate their 2-1 win over the Houston Astros in a baseball game, Wednesday, June 20, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
HOUSTON — The Kansas City Royals figure their offense will come around sooner or later. Until then, they’re happy to rely on a bullpen that keeps helping them eke out close wins.
Bruce Chen pitched into the sixth inning on three days’ rest and the Royals used four relievers to close out a 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
Alex Gordon tripled and scored for Kansas City, which took two of three from the Astros and has won seven of nine overall. Thirteen of Kansas City’s last 14 games have been decided by two or fewer runs, including six one-run games.
Manager Ned Yost smiled when asked what all these close games are doing to him.
“I’m fine. Piece of cake. We had them all the way,” he said.
Chen (6-6) struck out six in 5 2-3 innings and was charged with one run and five hits. Pitching on three days’ rest for the sixth time in his career, Chen bounced back from his last outing when he yielded six runs and seven hits in just 1 2-3 innings against St. Louis, but still received a no-decision in the Royals’ 10-7 loss.
Houston put runners on the corners with one out in the ninth, but Jonathan Broxton struck out Brian Bixler and retired Jordan Schafer to earn his 18th save in 21 chances.
“They’ve been doing it all year and once again they came up big today,” Gordon said of the bullpen. “A 2-1 win, it feels like we’ve been doing that all year. I swear one of these days our offense is going to get rolling and we’re going to start giving the bullpen a rest. Hopefully it will come soon.”
Yost was impressed with Broxton’s poise in the ninth.
“The thing about him is he doesn’t panic,” Yost said. “He stays calm and continues to make pitches.”
Kansas City’s pitchers have been particularly good late in games, posting a major league-best 1.31 ERA in the ninth inning or later. That performance has helped make up for an offense that has scored the second-fewest runs in the American League.
“We’ll start putting some big numbers up, but these wins are important, too,” third baseman Mike Moustakas said. “These 2-1 wins, these nail-biters give us a lot of momentum going home.”
Houston starter Jordan Lyles (1-4) gave up two runs and three hits in seven innings. He has bounced around between the Astros and Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.
“I’ve been looking for an outing where I can just turn that corner,” Lyles said. “Hopefully, this was it and that’s what I’m striving for. It is big because I know I can pitch up here and get outs.”
The Astros had eight hits, compared to just four for Kansas City, but they went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position.
“It’s the key situations where we’re just not able to find the holes,” Houston manager Brad Mills said. “There’s a lot of things we can point to like guys trying too hard, putting a little too much pressure on themselves. When you start to struggle in those situations, it starts to mount.”
The Royals grabbed a 1-0 lead in the fifth. Moustakas hit a leadoff double, moved up on Alcides Escobar’s grounder and scored on Brayan Pena’s infield out.
Gordon tripled with one out in the sixth and scored when Yuniesky Betancourt reached on an error by shortstop Jed Lowrie. Billy Butler then bounced into a double play to end the inning.
Houston got on the board in the bottom half, but lost out on a chance for a bigger rally.
Schafer and Carlos Lee opened the inning with consecutive walks, and Schafer moved to third when J.D. Martinez grounded into a double play. Lowrie drove in Schafer with an infield hit and Chris Johnson chased Chen with a single to left, but Kelvin Herrera struck out Chris Snyder to end the inning.
The Astros also had a chance to take the lead in the eighth. Lee hit a one-out single into right field, barely beating Jeff Francoeur’s throw to first. Martinez then walked before Greg Holland struck out Lowrie and Johnson.
Chen got into a jam in the fourth when Martinez doubled with one out and Lowrie was hit by a pitch. But he struck out Johnson and Snyder to end the threat.
Lyles got off to a great start, retiring 12 of his first 13 batters, including the first six.
NOTES: The Royals recalled INF Irving Falu from Triple-A Omaha and optioned reliever Louis Coleman to their top farm club. … Houston pitcher Bud Norris, on the DL with a sprained knee, threw a light side session and is expected to start for Triple-A Oklahoma on Saturday. … Mills said OF Fernando Martinez, on the DL for concussion-like symptoms, could begin a rehabilitation assignment in the next couple of days. … Houston CF Justin Maxwell left with a sprained left ankle. … Both teams are off on Thursday before Houston hosts the Indians and Kansas City plays the Cardinals.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Luke Hochevar (44) throws a pitch against the Houston Astros in the second inning at Minute Maid Park. Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE
HOUSTON — Kansas City’s Luke Hochevar endured some good-natured ribbing from his teammates after pitching one of his best games of the season.
They found it funny that he was so happy about getting his first major league hit.
Hochevar pitched into the eighth inning, two relievers completed the shutout, and Billy Butler hit a solo home run to lead the Royals to a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
One player yelled at reporters from the shower area in the clubhouse to make sure to ask him about his second-inning single. Jeff Francoeur and Butler continued to joke about it when asked about his pitching.
“Who cares about his outing, he got his first hit,” they both said one after another while chuckling.
Hochevar entered the game with nine strikeouts in 13 at-bats since 2008.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “It hasn’t been pretty at all.”
Hochevar earned his first victory since May 12. He had four losses and two no-decisions since his previous win.
Kansas City manager Ned Yost raved about his work on the mound.
“That was a tremendous ball game by Luke Hochevar,” Yost said. “He’s getting back to who he is. His three core pitches, four-seam fastball, curveball, changeup are very effective together in combination.”
Hochevar (4-7) pitched no-hit ball into the fifth inning and allowed five hits and struck out six in a season-high 7 2-3 innings.
“I wish we could have got him through it,” Yost said of the eighth inning. “But I can’t live with myself if he gives up the lead in the eighth inning with our pen.”
Hochevar said he’s made some adjustments since the beginning of the season that are starting to come together for him.
“I think it helps more changing speeds, and I’m not so one-dimensional,” he said. “Changing speeds more has helped a lot.”
Aaron Crow and closer Jonathan Broxton combined to allow no hits in the last 1 1-3 innings to complete Kansas City’s seventh shutout this season. Broxton earned his 17th save.
Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez (6-5) yielded six hits and two runs in seven innings.
Butler put Kansas City up 1-0 with his two-out homer to the Crawford Boxes in left field in the first inning.
Yuniesky Betancourt singled to start the third, and scored on Alcides Escobar’s two-out single that rolled between Jed Lowrie and Jose Altuve and into the outfield to make it 2-0.
Rodriguez settled down after the first three innings and allowed just one hit in the next four innings. He was helped by his defense in the sixth when Justin Maxwell made a leaping catch at the wall in left field to rob Escobar of a hit.
“We need to find that rhythm right away,” Houston manager Brad Mills said of Rodriguez. “He couldn’t get in that rhythm (early on). When he got it, you saw how good he was.”
Rodriguez was replaced by Brandon Lyon, who allowed two hits in 1 1-3 innings.
Lowrie walked with two outs in the eighth inning before a single by Carlos Lee chased Hochevar. Lowrie reached third on the hit, which bounced off the wall in left field, and Lee advanced to second on an error by Alex Gordon.
Crow replaced Hochevar and struck out Justin Maxwell to end the inning.
Hochevar didn’t allow a hit until Chris Johnson’s one-out single in the fifth inning, which broke an 0-for-13 skid by the third baseman. Hochevar walked Lee and plunked Brian Bogusevic in the second before walking Rodriguez in the third.
“The breaking ball that Hochevar had, it was pretty good,” Mills said. “We had trouble making adjustments, as you obviously saw.”
Jason Castro singled after Johnson’s single before Rodriguez was out when Mike Moustakas dived to catch his pop bunt. Hochevar retired Jordan Schafer to end Houston’s threat.
Lowrie drew a walk with one out in the sixth, and Lee doubled down the right field line, but Hochevar escaped trouble again when he struck out Maxwell and Bogusevic.
NOTES: Houston starter Bud Norris, on the DL with a sprained knee, will throw a light side session on Wednesday. If that goes well he will start for Triple-A Oklahoma on Saturday. … Royals starter Felipe Paulino, on the DL with a right groin strain, will start a rehabilitation assignment with Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday. … Kansas City left-hander Bruce Chen, who turned 35 on Tuesday, will start Wednesday’s finale against Jordan Lyles.
Fort Hays State athletic director Curtis Hammeke calls it a dream come true. Hammeke along with Fort Hays State University president Dr. Edward Hammond, Don and Chris Bickle and Bob and Pat Schmidt broke ground on the Schmidt/Bickle Indoor Training Facilty.
The Schmidt’s and Bickle’s both donated $1 million towards to the $4.2 million project. The 50,400-square-foot facility will have a 65-yard artificial turf football field, weight room, four-lane synthetic track as well as meeting and entertainment rooms.
Justin Ziegler picks up his second win of the season over Dodge City, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out eight Monday at Larks Park.
Justin Ziegler continued his dominance over Dodge City Monday night, helping the Hays Larks to a 9-1 win over the Athletics at Larks Park. The senior from Bradley allowed just the one run on five hits over seven innings, striking out eight and walking none for his second win of the summer, both over the A’s. Ziegler improves to 4-0 with a 0.69 ERA with 30 strikeouts and just two walks in four career starts against Dodge City.
The Larks struck first with three in the third. They added a run in the fifth to make it 4-1 then blew the game open with three in the seventh then added two in the eighth following a 15-minute delay due to lights.
Zair Koeiman and Austin Darby both had two hits. Darby and Claudio Valencia both drove in two as the Larks improve to 10-4 and 7-4 in the Jayhawk League where they move within a game of first-place Liberal.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez stares out toward right field after allowing Houston Astros' Justin Maxwell to score from first base on his throwing error on a pickoff attempt in the first inning of an interleague baseball game, Monday, June 18, 2012, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)
HOUSTON — It was a big moment for Houston’s Brian Bixler when he hit his first career home run in the first inning on Monday night.
Perhaps more important than that shot, though, was his two-run double in the eighth inning that helped pad Houston’s lead and allowed the Astros to hold on for a 9-7 win after a late rally by Kansas City.
Bixler drove in a career-high three runs on three hits and Justin Maxwell and Brian Bogusevic also homered for the Astros.
“It was a good way to start the day off,” Bixler said of his homer. “I was happy to continue that and put it together for the whole day. So it worked out well.”
J.A. Happ (5-7) yielded four hits and two runs in 6-plus innings to break a four-game losing streak. It was his first start since allowing 11 hits and eight runs — both career highs — in Houston’s 10-0 loss to San Francisco in which Matt Cain threw a perfect game.
Maxwell hit a two-run homer after Bogusevic’s solo shot in Houston’s five-run eighth inning.
Jonathan Sanchez (1-3) allowed six hits and four runs in six innings in his second start since a month-long stint on the disabled list with tendinitis in his left biceps.
Things got dicey for the Astros in the ninth with a tough outing by closer Brett Myers, who allowed four consecutive singles with one out to make it 9-3. The Royals got another run on a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Mitch Maier and Yuniesky Betancourt’s bases-loaded single scored two more.
Billy Butler had an RBI single to get Kansas City within 9-7 and bring loud boos from the crowd. The eighth hit of the inning, a single by Jeff Francoeur, chased Myers, bringing in Xavier Cedeno, who retired Mike Moustakas to get his first career save.
“It paid off today,” Bixler said of adding runs late. “It just kind of showed you that especially at this level, guys don’t give in and things happen. I’m glad we were able to do that in the eighth and hold onto it for J.A. Happ.”
Houston manager Brad Mills took the blame for Myers’ struggles.
“We’d like to get him out there a little more often so he could be a little crisper,” he said of Myers, who last pitched Thursday. “In his defense he’s been great all year, he’s going to continue to be great, it was just a situation where he hadn’t been out there in a while and that’s my fault.”
Bixler’s solo homer came on a shot to the Crawford Boxes in left field that tied it 1-1 in the first. Maxwell walked and later scored from first on an error by Sanchez when he badly missed a throw to first base on a pickoff attempt to make it 2-1.
Sanchez plunked Chris Johnson to start Houston’s fourth inning. Sanchez’s second botched pickoff attempt of the game allowed Johnson to advance to third, and he scored on a one-out single by Chris Snyder to make it 3-1.
After Johnson scored in the fourth, Jose Altuve was hit by a pitch with two outs before a single by Bixler loaded the bases. Maxwell walked to make it 4-1, but Sanchez retired Carlos Lee.
“Sanchez did all right,” Kansas City manager Ned Yost said. “He kept us in the game. The two pickoff throws hurt him. The two-out walk with the bases loaded hurt him.”
Betancourt tripled with one out in the first and scored on a two-out single by Francoeur to put Kansas City up 1-0.
Happ retired 13 of the next 14 batters before Alex Gordon doubled to start the sixth. Gordon advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by Butler to cut the lead to 4-2.
“He rebounded after the first inning, starting throwing some strikes and making pitches a little bit better,” Mills said of Happ. “It was sure nice to see him work as late as he did into the game.”
Bogusevic’s first-pitch homer in the eighth inning came off reliever Louis Coleman, who was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Monday to help reinforce a bullpen that pitched nine innings in a 15-inning win over St. Louis on Sunday.
“We were strapped in the pen,” Yost said. “We didn’t have the ability to match up tonight. We had to go as far as we could with Sanchez.”
Snyder walked and Altuve singled before Bixler sent them both home on a double to make it 7-2. Maxwell’s eighth homer of the season wrapped up Houston’s scoring.
NOTES: Houston signed RHP Lance McCullers on Monday. The 18-year-old was selected with the 41st pick in this year’s draft. … Kansas City placed 2B Chris Getz on the 15-day DL on Monday with a strained left leg. Along with Coleman, they also recalled LHP Tommy Hottovy from Omaha. They optioned RHP Nate Adcock to Omaha to make room on the roster for Hottovy. … These teams continue the series on Tuesday when Houston’s Wandy Rodriguez opposes Luke Hochevar. … Yost said the Royals would start Bruce Chen on Wednesday and push Vin Mazzaro’s start to Friday.
Fort Hays State assistant women’s basketball coach Carrie Hofstetter has accepted the position as head coach of the Hastings College women’s basketball program in Hastings, Neb. Hofstetter returns to her alma mater, where she was a member of three NAIA national championship teams, twice as a player and once as a coach. Hofstetter was an assistant at Fort Hays State for the past four years.
Hofstetter has been an assistant coach for a total of eight years, all under Fort Hays State head coach Tony Hobson. She helped Hastings College to two national championships (2002 & 2003) as a player under Hobson, then joined his coaching staff following her playing career and helped guide Hastings to a national championship as a coach in 2006. She came with Hobson to Fort Hays State when he was announced as the head coach of the Lady Tigers in 2008.
While at Fort Hays State, Hofstetter helped the Lady Tigers to three MIAA Tournament appearances and most recently a 20-9 mark for the 2011-12 season, the best season so far in Hobson’s tenure at FHSU. The 20-9 record marked the best season for the FHSU women’s program since 2005-06 and the best since joining the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
“Carrie has been a trustworthy and loyal assistant for me for eight years, and deserves the opportunity that Hastings College has given her,” said Hobson. “The fact that she had so much success there as both a player and assistant coach made it an attractive job for her, and a great hire for them. She has done an excellent job in her time at FHSU in all aspects of our program, and I will certainly miss her.”
A native of Edgar, Neb., Hofstetter had an impressive career as a player at Hastings. She helped the program to a record of 121-22 in her four years at the school. She was a first team all-conference selection in 2003 and 2004, and an NAIA National All-Tournament Team selection three years from 2002-2004. She was the Great Plains Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a NAIA First Team All-American in 2004 as a senior. Also during her senior year, Hofstetter was named the FCA Central Nebraska Athlete of the Year, a member of the Omaha World Herald All-Nebraska Team, and received the NAIA Champions of Character Award. She still owns school records for career assists and steals. Hofstetter was inducted into the Hastings College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010 along with Hobson. She played her prep career at Sandy Creek High School helping her school to four state titles in girls basketball, while never losing a single game.
A four-run first inning proved to be the difference as the Hays Larks fall to Haysville 5-3 in the final game of their three-game weekend series at Larks Park. The Larks take two of three from the Heat and are 9-4 overall and in second-place in the Jayhawk League at 6-4. They host Dodge City Monday night at seven o’clock. Admission is free courtesy of the First Care Clinic.
